We’re all very familiar with the idea that modern B2B buyers are increasingly well-informed and far less dependent on individual sales interactions to get hold of the information they need to make buying decisions.

But according to a recent survey revealed by Neil Rackham of SPIN Selling fame, B2B buyers are also demanding more expertise and support from sales people than ever before. How can these two apparent contradictions be rationalised?

It turns out that the answer lies in the increasingly polarised nature of B2B buying behaviour…

If you work in a large organization, you're probably fortunate to have people devoted to creating and setting up testing and tracking mechanisms. People who also provide reports and analyses so you can make decisions about what to do next. There are thousands of things you can test, track and analyze.

CEM or customer experience management is the line of business where we organize and manage the customer service actions and business operations to enhance the customer’s perception of their interaction with the organization.

This infographic by CustVox, now owned by SandSIV, reminds us of ”what is the customer experience?” and is a great starting place for organizations wanting to increase their focus on developing customer relationships and is also a great refresher for those with programs already in place to measure their actions and the results of their customer experience efforts.

Denis Failly's insight:

CEM goes beyond CRM that is too much company centric, think before in term of interaction and not transaction

Big data means much more than a change in technology, it represents a structural transformation is how we will manage our enterprises. Terabytes, Petabytes, Exabytes. Who can keep track? These strange terms have just begun to enter the business lexicon, but the hype surrounding them has reached a fever pitch. We have undoubtedly entered the age of big data. Yet it’s hard for many to take it seriously. While the blogosphere buzzes and millennials preach, most serious business people are focused on their jobs. They have partners, customers and employees to keep happy and all the techy mumbo jumbo just doesn’t seem relevant !

Remember, what you really need to know about big data is this: It represents a fundamental shift in how we do things. In effect, big data opens the door to a Bayesian approach to strategy where we no longer try to be “right” based on controlled research and small samples, but rather become less wrong over time as real world information floods in ...

I’ve talked before about how big data is driving content marketing. And also earlier this week about how customer insightsare becoming the main competitive differentiation between old-school traditionalists and modern marketers.

But somewhere rolling around in my head was a post about how in today’s digital and social world, data and content are the same thing, or they are parts of one another, or somehow closely related.

Denis Failly's insight:

main considerations for bringing together the power of data and content to drive effective demand generation.

In any technology-centric company, product managers, engineers and developers who have their finger on the pulse of customers have the highest credibility and respect. Over time they also have the most success in their careers. This happens because their innate understanding of the customer is the most valuable currency there is [...]

In most of my sales and marketing work, I try to use only three different measurements to guide it. I have found that though we can create more these pieces to the measurement puzzle can cover a lot of ground without complicating things. The three different pieces are performance measures, impact measures and outcome measures.

Marketing VP’s, Directors, and CMO’s have passionately pursued “marketing ROI” for several years now. Marketing technology innovation, shifts in strategic thinking, and the focus on measuring every activity and campaign are key drivers. CEO’s and CFO’s and the never ending drone from Sales adds emotional fuel to the mix.

Pursuing marketing ROI is misguided. Marketing is not an investment. Marketing will never produce ROI

Denis Failly's insight:

"You heard someone present marketing conference and they have 87,000 followers on Twitter and all they talked about was Marketing ROI. There’s a reason why those people are professional speakers and not strategic marketers. '

Content marketers have a love-hate relationship with data and for good reason: For all its granular detail, it can never paint a complete picture. McMurry/TMG’s Jimmy Daly says it’s time to step back from the data deluge.

Denis Failly's insight:

"Metrics might help you highlight short-term gains but without a mutual understanding of their meaning, they likely cannot help you instill faith in your client that your work is delivering value."

What is the first thing consumers do when they come across an advertisement or if they come to know about a particular product through a friend? Yes, they look for more information online. To get the best information they read about the product on a company’s website, watch videos related to that product, read reviews of others and finally they arrive at a purchase decision. In this whole process, consumers go through content like blogs, articles, reports, etc. on different social media platforms

Sharing your scoops to your social media accounts is a must to distribute your curated content. Not only will it drive traffic and leads through your content, but it will help show your expertise with your followers.

Integrating your curated content to your website or blog will allow you to increase your website visitors’ engagement, boost SEO and acquire new visitors. By redirecting your social media traffic to your website, Scoop.it will also help you generate more qualified traffic and leads from your curation work.

Distributing your curated content through a newsletter is a great way to nurture and engage your email subscribers will developing your traffic and visibility.
Creating engaging newsletters with your curated content is really easy.